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A missionary posted a challenge to the fact that the Trinity is pagan and not Jewish (biblical). S/he referenced Y'shayahu / Isaiah 48:16 quoting a pretty mangled translation: "Come near to Me, hear this; I have not spoken in secret, from the beginning; From the time that it was, I was there, And now the Lord God and His Spirit Have sent Me” (Isaiah 48:16) and then stating "There are 3 individuals. It's Messiah (Jesus) who is talking here and he is mentioning about L-rd G-d (FATHER) and His spirit (HOLY SPIRIT)." Given that mangled translation it is possible to be misled -- but the fact is that the prophet Y'shayahu / Isaiah is speaking and he says: “Approach me, hear this: I did not speak in secrecy at first; from the time (the decree) was issued I was there. And now, My L-rd, HaShem (G-d) has sent me with His spirit.” This is not a triune god. The prophet Isaiah is the speaker. To paraphrase Isaiah is saying “Approach me (Isaiah). . .I did not speak in secrecy. . . G-d has sent me (Isaiah) and I come to you as His servant (with His spirit giving me authority).” Often enough Isaiah tells us clearly (not in secrecy!) there is only ONE G-d. Why do missionaries ignore His plain words for crazy searchings for a multi-headed god? The very next line (Yeshayahu / Isaiah 48:17) says clearly that G-d is ONE. “Thus said HaShem, your redeemer, the Holy ONE (ONE!!!!) of Israel: I am (singular) HaShem your G-d”!! To debunk the trinity (holy spirit) go up a few lines to 12: “Hearken to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, who was called by Me (singular0, I am He (singular), I am first, yea I am last.” Isaiah 48:12. SINGULAR. ME I I AM FIRST I AM LAST Context, context, context!! Prophets receive messages from G-d to communicate to others. Isaiah is simply stating that he was moved by being in communication with G-d. Indeed the term “holy spirit” in the T’nach (Jewish bible) does not refer to an entity as it does to Christians. There is no “holy spirit” aka the “holy ghost.” There is only one G-d (D’varim / Deuteronomy 6:4). The term "holy spirit" (in which "holy" is an adjective) never appears in the T'nach even once. Since the “holy spirit” is not biblical (the term does appear in Rabbinical writings) and it doesn’t mean the third part of the trinity, what does it mean? As Judaism holds that G-d is One and Unique, the notion of a dual or triune godhead is totally rejected. G-d is not a spirit. G-d is not a physical entity (He has not physical form, He is not a man). It would seem that this Christian “holy ghost” (“holy spirit” of the trinity) is based on a misuse of the Hebrew term Ruach HaKodesh (mistranslated as holy spirit) But Ruach HaKodesh doesn't mean "the holy spirit.” “Holy Spirit” would be הָרוּחַ הַקָּדוֹשׁ ha-ru'ah ha-kadosh (ha meaning “the”) or perhaps הָרוּחַ הַקְּדוֹשָׁה ha-ru'ah ha-k'doshah (because רוּחַ ruach can be both masculine & feminine – all nouns in Hebrew must be either male or female). קוֹדֶשׁ (kadosh) is a noun ("holiness" or "sanctity") and literally means to be separate. The term רוּחַ literally means “wind” and is the lowest level of the soul – the life force. רוּחַ הַקֹּדֶש / Ruach HaKodesh should be translated as "a spirit of [the] holiness" or "a spirit of [the] sanctity". Meaning it is a state of holiness in a human being, NOT a mythical G-d of spirit. Let me repeat that – it is a state of holiness in a human being, NOT a mythical spirit of G-d. So what does it mean? What is a state of holiness in a human being? Divine inspiration. One inspired by G-d. A state of being of a person. Inspiration being a level below communication with G-d (prophecy). Think of it as a kind of sub-prophecy or divinely-provided intuition. Y'shayahu / Isaiah 48:16 does not say רוּחַ הַקֹּדֶש / Ruach HaKodesh should be translated as "a spirit of [the] holiness" -- it simply says spirit (so the missionary is assuming his third part of the triune god). . . Missionaries claim that they are monotheistic and worship one G-d. Yet the concept of the trinity is that of three entities: the father, the son and the “holy” ghost. They try and get around this by saying the three G-ds are one, but three are three. The concept is NOT Jewish. There is no supporting concept in the Tanach. The concept of “father, son and holy ghost” – three G-ds as one but separate is pagan.
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Recently the blog has focused on how Jews know that Jesus was not the messiah (he did not have the correct parentage, he did not fulfill the prophecies and human sacrifice is forbidden. The Torah also teaches us that no one can atone for the sins of another -- each of us is responsible for his / her own sins. That last topic -- our personal responsibility -- brings me back full circle to the intention of this blog. The focus of this blog is not on Jesus (as a person or a god). The goal of this blog is to explain what Jews believe and to show how these beliefs are based firmly in the Jewish bible (primarily the Torah, the Five Books of Moses). The other books of the bible (Prophets and Writings) do nothing more but re-enforce what G-d already taught us in the Torah. We are forbidden from adding to or subtracting from the mitzvot of the Torah. Think about it -- the prophets spent most of their effort trying to return Jews to Torah observance! This blog exists to help teach uneducated Jews and interested non-Jews the teachings of Torah (and thus Judaism) -- and to refute the assumption by many a missionary that Judaism and Christianity are "the same" -- except they believe the messiah has come (Jesus) while the Jew still awaits the messiah. This assumption is false. There are far more differences between Judaism and Christianity than there are similarities. Let's just list a few differences, Remember: what one Christian believes another will reject -- some Christian reading the list will say "I don't believe in "original sin" or "faith over works", but the list of what Christians believe is based on a majority of "normative" Christian teaching and beliefs:
A Jew cannot be Christian and remain Jewish. A Jew accepting the beliefs of another religion (gods) and rejecting those promises we made to G-d to do and to hear is endangering his or her immortal soul. A Jew can never stop being a Jew, and thus turning to עבודה זרה / avodah zarah (strange / foreign worship, aka idolatry) is cutting that person off from G-d and the Jewish people. That person is an apostate to the Jewish people until such time as he or she returns to G-d and repents of their idolatry. The term idolatry in Judaism means any form of worship we did not know at Sinai, and any thinking Christian must realize that the Jews of Sinai did not pray to or through Jesus. The website Simple to Remember puts it well. Jews do not accept Jesus as the messiah because: (What exactly is the Messiah?)
D'varim / Deuteronom 4:39 says loud and clear that there is no other G-d. Hashem is the only one. "And you shall know this day and consider it in your heart, that the L-rd He is the G-d in heaven above, and upon the earth below; there is none else." D'varim / Deuteronomy 4:39. The definite article הָֽ ('ha") in front of the word "elohim" (a title used to describe G-d, false gods, angels and even humans who are mighty / powerful judges) makes the translation "the G-d." הָֽאֱלֹ-הִ֔ים. Here is the Hebrew: וְיָֽדַעְתָּ֣ הַיּ֗וֹם וַהֲשֵֽׁבֹתָ֘ אֶל־לְבָבֶ֒ךָ֒ כִּ֤י יְיָ֙ ה֣וּא הָֽאֱ-להִ֔ים בַּשָּׁמַ֣יִם מִמַּ֔עַל וְעַל־הָאָ֖רֶץ מִתָּ֑חַת אֵ֖ין עֽוֹד׃ Translations tend to translate this as "He is G-d", but the text acutally says "He is THE G-d." -- that is to say, "the One and Only G-D". D'varim / Deuteronomy 4:35 (four verses earlier) is even more explicit.... אַתָּה֙ הָרְאֵ֣תָ לָדַ֔עַת כִּ֥י יְיָ֖ ה֣וּא הָֽאֱ-לֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ין ע֖וֹד מִלְבַדּֽוֹ׃ "You have been shown these things so you should know that HaShem is the the One and Only G-D and there is no-one else apart from Him" (D'varim / Deuteronomy 4:35 Again we have The definite article הָֽ ('ha") in front of the word "elohim" ("the G-d"), but we also have אֵ֥ין ע֖וֹד מִלְבַדּֽוֹ׃ - no one else apart from Him. |
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